Sundance

[C Kenneybrew]

Call me small minded. But Ive noticed that Sundance Film Festival seems to have turned into a celebrity studded event. How can an independent film maker compete when name brand actors are starring in these films? It seems a little unfair. I would assume that the average filmmaker doesnt have the money to pay a famous actor to star in their film. Is there a secret to this that Im missing out on? What do you think?

[Marcus Joseph]

I think it's more important make a truly great piece of work and you might have a shot at making it in regardless of who's attached, also creating a considerable buzz at one of the big festivals will get you in other ones as Sundance is not the only shot at getting your film seen.

 

If you're considering to make a feature film, then having a brand actor is pretty important to make it recognizable to an audience and hopefully get distribution. It's not really the case with short films, but shorts are usually the training ground and can in some rare cases get you in for decent features with brand actors.

[Guest]

Bottom line is that they receive 3500 feature entries for 100 slots. So you can do the math from there.

 

R,